Category: media
Experiments conducted by researcher Herbert Krugman reveal that when a person watches television, brain activity switches from the left to the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere is the seat of logical thought. Here, information is broken down into its component parts and critically analyzed. The right brain, however, treats incoming data uncritically, processing information in wholes, leading to emotional, rather than logical responses. The shift from left to right brain activity also causes the release of endorphins, the body’s own natural opiates–thus, it is possible to become physically addicted to watching television, a hypothesis borne out by numerous studies which have shown that very few people are able to kick the television habit. It’s no longer an overstatement to note that the youth today that are raised and taught through network television are intellectually dead by their early teens.
The dumbing down of humanity is represented by another shift which occurs in the brain when we watch television. Activity in the higher brain regions (such as the neo-cortex) is diminished, while activity in the lower brain regions (such as the limbic system) increases. The latter, commonly referred to as the reptile brain, is associated with more primitive mental functions, such as the “fight or flight” response. The reptile brain is unable to distinguish between reality and the simulated reality of television. To the reptile brain, if it looks real, it is real. Thus, though we know on a conscious level it is “only a film,” on a conscious level we do not–the heart beats faster, for instance, while we watch a suspenseful scene. Similarly, we know the commercial is trying to manipulate us, but on an unconscious level the commercial nonetheless succeeds in, say, making us feel inadequate until we buy whatever thing is being advertised–and the effect is all the more powerful because it is unconscious, operating on the deepest level of human response. The reptile brain makes it possible for us to survive as biological beings, but it also leaves us vulnerable to the manipulations of television programmers. This is where the manipulators use our own emotions as strings to control us. The distortions and directions we are being moved to are taking place in the subconscious, often undetected.
Propaganda techniques were first codified and applied in a scientific manner by journalist Walter Lippman and psychologist Edward Bernays (nephew of Sigmund Freud) early in the 20th century. During World War I, Lippman and Bernays were hired by then United States President, Woodrow Wilson, to participate in the Creel Commission, the mission of which was to sway popular opinion in favor of entering the war, on the side of Britain. Edward Bernays said in his 1928 book Propaganda that, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” (read more)
- Labels: control, media, power, propaganda, television
James Fowler, a professor of psychology at UCSD, found that messages from our peers are more likely to initiate action than messages delivered by a political committee [ link ]. Last year, Obamaâs reelection committee learned the same thing. They developed a system that leverages database technology and social-media to deliver their messages. In an instant, this system allows them to:
- mobilize grassroots support for White House concerns
- provide White House support for local concerns
Apparently they took an extra step, conducted surveys ..and learned that nothing energizes participation better than âreciprocityâ. Brilliant use of technology combined with Obamaâs experience as a community organizer. Politically Iâm independent and pretty damn naïve ..but I can see why this might give Republicans cause for alarm.
- Labels: bill, media, politics, technology
One of EFF’s goals is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger to let you know you have rights and to encourage you to blog freely with the knowledge that your legitimate speech is protected.
To that end we have created the Legal Guide for Bloggers a collection of blogger-specific FAQs addressing everything from fair use to defamation law to workplace whistle-blowing.
In addition EFF continues to battle for bloggers’ rights in the courtroom:
Bloggers can be journalists (and journalists can be bloggers). We’re battling for legal and institutional recognition that if you engage in journalism you’re a journalist with all of the attendant rights privileges and protections. (See Apple v. Does)
Bloggers are entitled to free speech. We’re working to shield you from frivolous or abusive threats and lawsuits. Internet bullies shouldn’t use copyright libel or other claims to chill your legitimate speech. (See OPG v. Diebold)
Bloggers have the right to political speech. We’re working with a number of other public-interest organizations to ensure that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) doesn’t gag bloggers’ election-related speech. We argue that the FEC should adopt a presumption against the regulation of election-related speech by individuals on the Internet and interpret the existing media exemption to apply to online media outlets that provide news reporting and commentary regarding an election — including blogs. (See our joint comments to the FEC).
Bloggers have the right to stay anonymous. We’re continuing our battle to protect and preserve your constitutional right to anonymous speech online including providing a guide to help you with strategies for keeping your identity private when you blog. (See How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else).
Bloggers have freedom from liability for hosting speech the same way other web hosts do. We’re working to strengthen Section 230 liability protections under the Communications Decency Act (CDA) while spreading the word that bloggers are entitled to them. (See Barrett v. Rosenthal)
- Labels: communication, freedom, internet, liberty, media
“The News That Didnât Make the News”
CENSORED 2012 â
In this volume, there are 500 pages of real news you can use, plus ample analysis that eradicates civil paralysis, and antidotes to our current Truth Emergency that will strengthen societal media literacy.
The mission of Project Censored is to teach students and the public about the role of a free press in a free society â and to tell the News That Didnât Make the News and Why
Between 700 and 1000 stories are submitted to Project Censored each year from journalists, scholars, librarians, and concerned citizens around the world.
With the help of more than 200 Sonoma State University faculty, students, and community members, Project Censored reviews the story submissions for coverage, content, reliability of sources and national significance. The university community selects 25 stories to submit to the Project Censored panel of judges who then rank them in order of importance. Current or previous national judges include: Noam Chomsky, Susan Faludi, George Gerbner, Sut Jhally, Frances Moore Lappe, Michael Parenti, Herbert I. Schiller, Barbara Seaman, Erna Smith, Mike Wallace and Howard Zinn. All 25 stories are featured in the yearbook, Censored: The News That Didnât Make the News.
see > Top 25 Of 2012 (“Censored 2012: Stories of 2010-2011”)
The Sourcebook for the Media Revolution, The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2010-2011 by Mickey Huff and Project Censored.
Project Censored is administered through the SSU Sociology Department with financial support from the SSU Instructionally Related Activity Fund, School of Social Science, Media Freedom Foundation Inc. and donations from thousands of supporters around the country.
see also > Top 25 Archive
Independent News Sources
Featured Articles
Censored Notebook
- Labels: censorship, ignorance, media, society
…a very sad piece of truth, once we know
…are we supposed to do nothing about it?
- Labels: gaza, israel, media, mind control, palestine, paradox, peace, propaganda, war
Andrew Aitken “Andy” Rooney (January 14, 1919 â November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer. He was most notable for his weekly broadcast “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney”, a part of the CBS News program 60 Minutes from 1978 to 2011. His final regular appearance on 60 Minutes aired October 2, 2011. He died a month later, on November 4, at age 92.
Andrew Rooney was born in Albany, New York, the son of Walter Scott Rooney (1888â1959) and Ellinor (née Reynolds) Rooney (1886â1980). He attended The Albany Academy, and later attended Colgate University in Hamilton in Central New York, where he was initiated into the Sigma Chi fraternity, until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in August 1941. Rooney began his career in newspapers while in the Army when, in 1942, he began writing for Stars and Stripes in London during World War II.
In February 1943, flying with the Eighth Air Force, he was one of six correspondents who flew on the second American bombing raid over Germany. Later, he was one of the first American journalists to visit the Nazi concentration camps near the end of World War II, and one of the first to write about them.
During a segment on Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation, Rooney confessed that he had been opposed to World War II because he was a pacifist. He recounted that what he saw in those concentration camps made him ashamed that he had opposed the war and permanently changed his opinions about whether “just wars” exist.
In London, during the war, Mary Hemingway made an accusation of plagiarism against several fellow journalists, including Andy Rooney, although the accusations were proven false.
Rooney’s 1995 memoir, My War, chronicles his war reporting. In addition to recounting firsthand several notable historical events and people (including the entry into Paris and the Nazi concentration camps), Rooney describes how it shaped his experience both as a writer and reporter. (read more)
Andrew Aitken “Andy” Rooney
(January 14, 1919 â November 4, 2011)
Hunter S. Thompson
by Ralph Steadman
Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 â February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author who wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971) and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 (1973).
He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories. He is known also for his unrepentant lifelong use of alcohol, LSD, mescaline, and cocaine (among other substances); his love of firearms; his inveterate hatred of Richard Nixon; and his iconoclastic contempt for authoritarianism. While suffering a bout of health problems, he committed suicide in 2005, at the age of 67. (read more)
The Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion was a television signal hijacking in Chicago, Illinois, on the evening of November 22, 1987. It is an example of what is known in the television business as broadcast signal intrusion. The intruder was successful in interrupting two television stations within three hours. Neither the hijacker nor the accomplices have ever been found or identified.
- Labels: Culture, media, television
With the term spectacle, Debord defines the system that is a confluence of advanced capitalism, the mass media, and the types of governments who favor those phenomena. “… the spectacle, taken in the limited sense of “mass media” which are its most glaring superficial manifestation…”.
The spectacle is the inverted image of society in which relations between commodities have supplanted relations between people, in which “passive identification with the spectacle supplants genuine activity”. “The spectacle is not a collection of images,” Debord writes. “rather, it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images.” (read more)
- Labels: consumerism, materialism, media, money, propaganda
“Has it ever occurred to you…
that you might be wrong?”
- Labels: ignorance, media, mind control, myopia, propaganda
by Jim Marrs on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 12:58pm
The surest way to control a free people is to initiate a war. But to have a war requires an enemy. In recent years, Americaâs great enemy has been Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, but this has turned out to be a Bogyman — a false and ethereal image to provoke fear.
âThere are people within the US intelligence community who doubt that the hijacker list from 9/11 has much truth in it,â said one unnamed intelligence source quoted by investigative reporter and publisher Jon Rappoport, who has built up many sources in his more than 20 years of experience. âThey see it as a more-or-less invented list. They know that if you start with men showing false passports (or no passports) to get on four planes on 9/11, you canât assemble a correct list of nineteen suspects within a few daysâespecially since all those men are presumed dead and missing, untraceable. Al Qaeda is being used as a term to convince people that these terrorists are all connected in a vast, very well-organized network that is global in reach, that has a very sophisticated and far-flung communication setup, that issues orders from the top down to cells all over the world,â stated the intelligence source. âThere are a number of people inside the US intelligence agencies who know this is a false picture. They know that false intelligence is being assembled in order to paint a picture which is distorted, so that the American people will have a single focus on one grand evil enemy.â
If one doubts this source, consider this video of author researcher Jason Burke:
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/59.html
Supporting the claim that the terrorist organization is a fabrication is the fact that not one of the accused 9/11 hijackersâ names appeared on the passenger lists made public by American or United airlines. In fact, as many as seven of those named as the culprits in the attacks were soon found alive and well in the Middle East. These included Saudi pilot Waleed al-Shehri, identified by the US Justice Department as one of the men who crashed American Flight 11 into the WTC. But a few days later, Waleed al-Shehri contacted authorities in Casablanca, Morocco, to proclaim that he was very much alive and played no part in the attacks. Another man identified as one of the hijackers of Flight 11, Abdulaziz al-Omari, also turned up alive in the Middle East, telling BBC News that he lost his passport while visiting Denver, Colorado. Actually two turned up, as yet another Abdulaziz al-Omari surfaced in Saudi Arabia very much alive and telling newsmen, âI couldnât believe the FBI put me on their list. They gave my name and my date of birth, but I am not a suicide bomber. I am here. I am alive. I have no idea how to fly a plane. I had nothing to do with this.â
Yet another man identified as one of the hijackers of United Flight 93, Saeed al-Ghamdi, was reported alive and well and working as a pilot in Saudi Arabia. âYou cannot imagine what it is like to be described as a terroristâand a dead manâwhen you are innocent and alive,â said al-Ghamdi, who was given a holiday by his airline in Saudi Arabia to avoid arrest. At least three other named 9/11 hijackers surfaced to proclaim their innocence in the attacks but none of this was widely reported in the US corporate mass media.
In October, 2004, the BBC in England broadcasted a documentary entitled The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear, a three-hour documentary that challenged the Bush administrationâs stated concept of al Qaeda as a multi-faceted globe-spanning octopus of terrorism. The documentary raised questions such as:
Why has the Bush administration, after rounding up hundreds of suspected terrorists and using torture during interrogation, failed to produce any hard evidence of al Qaeda activities?
Of the 664 suspected terrorists detained in Britain, why have only 17 been found guilty of crimes? Why have none of these men been proven to be members of al Qaeda
Why has the Bush administration prompted so much frightening speculation over âdirtyâ radioactive bombs when experts have stated that public panic over such devices will kill more people than any radioactivity caused by one?
Why did Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld claim on Meet the Press in 2001 that al Qaeda controlled massive high-tech cave complexes in Afghanistan, when none were later found following the military invasion?
While it is clear that groups of disaffected Arab Muslims do exist, the BBC documentary nevertheless convincingly argued that âthe nightmare vision of a uniquely powerful hidden organization waiting to strike our societies is an illusion. Wherever one looks for this al Qaeda organization, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the âsleeper cellsâ in America, the British and Americans are chasing a phantom enemy.â
Los Angeles Times political columnist Robert Scheer said that the documentary makes âa powerful case that the Bush administration, led by a tight-knit cabal of Machiavellian neoconservatives, has seized upon the false image of a unified international terrorist threat to replace the expired Soviet empire in order to push a political agenda.â He pointed out that everything we know about al Qaeda comes from only two sources, both with a vested interest in maintaining the concept of a well-financed and deeply entrenched enemyâ the terrorists themselves and military and governmental intelligence agencies. âSuch a state of national ignorance about an endless war is, as The Power of Nightmares makes clear, simply unacceptable in a functioning democracy,â Scheer wrote.
In Britain it has been suggested that al Qaeda is not a real organization, but rather a computer list of Arab freedom fighters or terrorists available for hire. British commentator Robin Cook, who served as Foreign Secretary from 1997 â 2001 and as Leader of the House of Commons from 2001 â 2003, has suggested that âBin Laden â¦was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Al Qaeda, literally âthe database,â was originally the computer file of the thousands of Mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians.â
Ironically, supposed enemies are often two sides of the same coin. Author Thom Hartmann pointed out that both Bushâs neocons and Muslim terrorists operated from similar ideologiesâ though the specifics may differ, both groups believe the end justifies the means and that people must be frightened into accepting religion and nationalism for the greater good of morality and a stable state.
Now, we are told that Osama bin Laden has been killed in a Pakistani firefight, yet controversy sprang up immediately.
Why did it take 10 years to find the man when an errant taxpayer can be found by computer within minutes? Why did government sources claim Osama hid behind his wife, who was then killed only to retract those statements later? Why were the American people told his body was buried at sea as a Muslim custom when there is no such custom in Muslim countries, most of which are desert nations? Why did a photograph purporting to be the body of Osama prove to be a composite forgery? Why did âofficial sourcesâ claim Osama died at least nine times during the past 10 years? Why did several sources, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, say Osama died years ago but would be preserved until he could be brought public at the proper time? Has anyone in authority discussed rescinding the PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act, the Real ID Act or any of the other Constitution-shredding legislation passed by a panicked and cowardly Congress who by several accounts never even read these laws before passing them?
This whole issue smells like a barrel of dead fish yet do not expect to hear any truth concerning this on our corporate-controlled mass media. This scam, along with the growing defense and TSA budgets, must be continued.
FALSE PICTURE OF AL QAEDA — sources
Unnamed intelligence source: Jon Rappoport, âBriefing on Al Qaeda,â StratiaWire (Sept. 5, 2002)
Accused 9/11 hijackers turned up alive: Editors, âHijack suspects alive and well,â BBC News (Sept. 23, 2001)
Al Qaeda an illusion: http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jan/11/opinion/oe-scheer11
Al Qaeda as CIA database: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jul/08/july7.development
Enemies operate from same ideology: http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=%2Fviews04%2F1207-26.htm
Obama on intelligence estimates and more troops: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=BUR20090329&articleId=12943
Obama sends 30,000 troops but pledges withdrawal in 2011: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/12/01/obama-afghanistan001.html?ref=rss–
Northern Command: http://www.northcom.mil/About/index.html
Jim
“The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.”
Some time has been spent analyzing the means by which the propaganda messages are transmitted. That work is important but it is clear that information dissemination strategies become propaganda strategies only when coupled with propagandistic messages. Identifying these messages is a necessary prerequisite to study the methods by which those messages are spread. To learn more about mind control and techniques for generating propaganda click here.
- Labels: evil, lies, media, mind control, propaganda, television
Kerry: this is what I meant by a cohort effect when trying to understand differences of opinion. I’ll post Dr Henry Jenkins reply next. Itâs way brilliant..!
- Labels: bill, media, perspective
They go to fight for freedom,
but they are dying for conquest !!!
Ha!…
In the United States, movie production is known to be dominated by major studios since the early 20th Century; before that, there was a period in which Edison’s Trust monopolized the industry. The music and television industries recently witnessed cases of media consolidation, with Sony Music Entertainment’s parent company merging their music division with Bertelsmann AG’s BMG to form Sony BMG and TimeWarner’s The WB and CBS Corp.’s UPN merging to form The CW. In the case of Sony BMG, there existed a “Big Five” (now “Big Four”) of major record companies, while The CW’s creation was an attempt to consolidate ratings and stand up to the “Big Four” of American network (terrestrial) television.
There may also be some large-scale owners in an industry that are not the causes of monopoly or oligopoly. Clear Channel Communications, especially since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, acquired many radio stations across the United States, and came to own more than 1,200 stations. However, the radio broadcasting industry in the United States and elsewhere can be regarded as oligopolistic regardless of the existence of such a player. Because radio stations are local in reach, each licensed a specific part of airwave by the FCC in a specific local area, any local market is served by a limited number of stations. In most countries, this system of licensing makes many markets local oligopolies. The similar market structure exists for television broadcasting, cable systems and newspaper industries, all of which are characterized by the existence of large-scale owners. Concentration of ownership is often found in these industries.
In the United States, data on ownership and market share of media companies is not held in the public domain. Academics, for example at MIT Media Lab and NYU, have struggled to find data that show reliably the concentration of media ownership.
On June 2, 2003, FCC, in a 3-2 vote under Chairman Michael Powell, approved new media ownership laws that removed many of the restrictions previously imposed to limit ownership of media within a local area. The changes were not, as is customarily done, made available to the public for a comment period.
Single-company ownership of media in a given market is now permitted up to 45% (formerly 35%, up from 25% in 1985) of that market.
Restrictions on newspaper and TV station ownership in the same market were removed.
All TV channels, magazines, newspapers, cable, and Internet services are now counted, weighted based on people’s average tendency to find news on that medium. At the same time, whether a channel actually contains news is no longer considered in counting the percentage of a medium owned by one owner.
Previous requirements for periodic review of license have been changed. Licenses are no longer reviewed for “public-interest” considerations.
- Labels: censorship, media, money, monopoly, television
All I know is what I read in the papers
- Labels: humour, media, perspective, philosophy, satire, truth
I’m as mad as hell,
and I’m not going to take this anymore!
- Labels: awakening, big brother, control, media, perspective